I am more impressed by scripture than you are. I don't have to embellish it to make it more impressive, like you do.

quote:Matthew 6:28-29 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

... your naive utopian worldview that we all should look out for the poor....

It's Jesus' ideal.

Phat writes:

You don't believe that humans need God...

As I've said repeatedly, I don't believe we can COUNT on your God. That is evidenced by the fact that the problems still exist. And you have the gall to argue against the solutions.

Phat writes:

It is disingenuous to use the words of Jesus as fodder for your secular utopian idealism when reality suggests that it is evil in this world and we are not all called to give up all that we have for a said ideal.

It is downright DISHONEST of you to claim to believe in Jesus when you reject His message.

Phat writes:

I can not very well give according to my ability if my ability is squashed.

Think that through. OF COURSE you can give according to your ability, no matter what your ability is.

Phat writes:

And yet your message is delivered by a messenger who not only does not believe in salvation but does not believe in Jesus.

You continue to make the mistake of putting the messenger ahead of the message. You worship the envelope and throw the letter away.

In fact, I believe in Jesus more than you do because I believe in the message.

Why not hold the wealthy accountable to help the masses? You claimed before that you dont care what the wealthy do with their money...which puzzles me as you quote scripture to encourage a man of modest means, such as myself to give more and do more.

The working people should take care of each other, not use the rich as a crutch.

Phat writes:

The only reason we disagree here is that you insist that people of modest means pay the bill according to their ability. I say the rich should get the bill...

By leaning on the rich you're just legitimizing the system that caused the problem in the first place.

Phat writes:

I cant retire on prayers and handouts ya know...

You shouldn't have to. If you spend your working life giving according to your ability, you should be able to receive according to your need in your retirement. But instead, you advocate a system where you're expected to grab all you can. The problem with that is that the unscrupulous leave you little to grab.

Reality shows me that whether or not I advocate a capitalist system, it is likely to remain the status quo until it fails to6tally.

But it isn't the status quo. You already have some socialist programs. You could advocate catching up with the rest of the civilized world.

Phat writes:

The humanist philosophy that people can learn to be good has no real proof, so far.

Of course it does have proof. We learned that slavery is wrong, didn't we? Why can't we learn to take care of the poor and sick too?

We do have a problem with religious types like you who advocate against what Jesus taught but maybe even religious types can learn to be good. Or maybe they will be raptured and leave the rest of us in a golden age of humanism.

... he insists I lower my lifestyle for the benefit of the secular brethren.

No. You're the one that assumes being fair to the poor and the sick will hurt your cushy lifestyle. I have said more than once that helping the poor and the sick would improve productivity and help the economy.